From P.Rocha@ucl-cs.UUCP Fri Jul 7 15:29:24 1989
\nFrom: P.Rocha@ucl-cs.UUCP
\nSubject: Electricity Basics<\/p>\n
From: P.Rocha@uk.ac.ucl.cs<\/p>\n
I found this on ‘The Institute’, the IEEE news supplement to
\nIEEE Spectrum (V13, N4, April 1989). It really made me revise
\nmy concepts of Electricity. I hope you will enjoy it !<\/p>\n
Paulo<\/p>\n
+—————————–+———————————————+
\nPaulo Valverde de L. P. Rocha | JANET:procha@uk.ac.ucl.cs
\nDepartment of Computer Science| BITNET:procha%uk.ac.ucl.cs@UKACRL
\nUniversity College London |Internet:procha%cs.ucl.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
\nGower Street | ARPANet:procha@cs.ucl.ac.uk
\nLondon WC1E 6BT | UUCP:…!mcvax!ukc!ucl-cs!procha
\n+—————————–+———————————————+<\/p>\n
PRIMER FOR HOMEOWNERS: THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
\n ——————————————–<\/p>\n
The most important thing to find out about the
\nelectrical system is whether it cointains enough “volts”, which
\nare little tiny pieces of electricity shaped like arrows so you
\ncan tell which direction they’re moving …<\/p>\n
The standard measurement for volts is “amps”, also
\ncalled “watts”, which travel around in what is called a
\n“circuit” .<\/p>\n
A typical circuit works as follows:<\/p>\n
At the electrical company, fuel oil is burned to set
\nfire to a generator, which gives off electrical energy in the
\nform of sparks, which are put into wires and sent to your home,
\nwhere the electricity waits in the wall until you turn on your
\ntoaster, at which point it rushes through the wire abd into the
\nEnglish muffin and from there into your stomach, where it
\nremains until a cool, dry day when you are walking down a hall
\nscuffing your feet on a carpet and you go to open a door,
\ncausing the electricity to leap into the doorknob, where it
\nremains forever, building up over time to tremendously high
\nlevels, which os why scientists are now concerned that some
\nunscrupulous entity such as Libya or God forbid an adolescent
\nmale ever figures how to release this power, he could, using
\nonly the latent doorknob energy contained in a singleolder
\nranch-style home, vaporize Oregon.<\/p>\n
But your immediate concern, as a potential buyer, is
\nmaking sure that the house has the right number of volts .
\nFollowing is a chart depicting the most popular voltages
\ncurrently available in the housing market:<\/p>\n
POPULAR HOME VOLTAGES<\/p>\n
120
\n 220
\n 9*
\n * Requires 9-volt battery
\n (not included)<\/p>\n
Which voltage is right for you? This, more than
\nanything else, is a matter of taste; and like most matters of
\npersonal taste, it is best left in the hands of a qualified
\ninterior designer.<\/p>\n
(Primary source of text: “Homes and Other Black Holes”, by Dave
\nBarry and Jeff MacNelly, Random House, New York, 1988)<\/p>\n
